Authors Are Rockstars: C.J. Redwine

Welcome to Bibliognome home of today's Tour Stop for Authors Are Rockstars.  This stop features Defiance by C.J. Redwine

I think that C.J. Redwine is definitely a rockstar author.  I love her interviews of authors because she does them in such a unique/funny way and always has a cupcake made representing the author's book.  I'm also really excited about her upcoming book Defiance, I was drawn in by the cover of the book and then once I read the description I knew I had to read/pre-order it.  

Here's the description from Goodreads:

"Within the walls of Baalboden, beneath the shadow of the city’s brutal leader, Rachel Adams has a secret. While other girls sew dresses, host dinner parties, and obey their male Protectors, Rachel knows how to survive in the wilderness and deftly wield a sword. When her father, Jared, fails to return from a courier mission and is declared dead, the Commander assigns Rachel a new Protector, her father’s apprentice, Logan—the same boy Rachel declared her love for two years ago, and the same boy who handed her heart right back to her. Left with nothing but fierce belief in her father’s survival, Rachel decides to escape and find him herself. But treason against the Commander carries a heavy price, and what awaits her in the Wasteland could destroy her.

At nineteen, Logan McEntire is many things. Orphan. Outcast. Inventor. As apprentice to the city’s top courier, Logan is focused on learning his trade so he can escape the tyranny of Baalboden. But his plan never included being responsible for his mentor’s impulsive daughter. Logan is determined to protect her, but when his escape plan goes wrong and Rachel pays the price, he realizes he has more at stake than disappointing Jared.

As Rachel and Logan battle their way through the Wasteland, stalked by a monster that can’t be killed and an army of assassins out for blood, they discover romance, heartbreak, and a truth that will incite a war decades in the making"

Doesn't it sound awesome?  Now check out the cover with its fierce looking heroine and quite possibly the coolest looking cape I've ever seen. 
   

I'm very happy to be presenting to everyone that stops by today, an excerpt, which makes me even more eager to read the book, from Defiance by C.J. Redwine:

"She grins and yanks her weapon free. “For someone who spends his days hunched over boring old papers, you sure know how to create a nice killing stick.”

            Time to teach her who she’s dealing with. “I didn’t grow up in South Edge without learning a trick or two,” I say as I pick up Jared’s Switch. “Sheath your blade. We’ll count a solid touch from the blade end as a strike.”

            She sends her blade back into its hiding place, widens her stance, and rolls to the balls of her feet. I walk toward her, the resolve I feel to protect her blazing into something hard and bright in the face of her courage.

            “I spend my days hunched over boring old papers, do I?” My stick whistles through the air, and she leaps back to dodge the blow. Spinning, I tap her with the sheathed blade before she can raise her arms in defense.

            “My point,” I say and don’t bother hiding my smirk.

            She circles me. “Lucky shot.”

            I lash out again, but she’s ready. Blocking me with the middle of her Switch, she whirls beneath my outstretched arms and slams the weighted end into my thigh.

            Pride keeps me from swearing at the pain. Instead, I sweep her feet out from under her. She flips in midair and rolls forward as she lands, coming up with her stick ready.

            The controlled grace of her movements would make Jared proud. I decide the warm emotion sweeping through me must be pride too.

            “You’re quick. That’s good,” I say, advancing toward her.

            “You’re not bad for a tech head.”

            We block, parry, and break apart. She’s strong and quick, but I worry she doesn’t know how to anticipate the unexpected. I step back, inviting an attack, and she charges forward, swinging the weighted end of her stick like a butcher slicing the head from a sheep. I wait until the last second, then drop to the ground and ram her with my shoulder. Her forward momentum carries her over the top of me and she lands face first onto the grass.

            She spits dry blades of grass from her mouth, and swears, but a new respect for me is in her eyes.

            I laugh, and my fear for her eases into something I can use to focus on planning. She stares at me, a tiny smile flitting across her lips, and the affection on her face makes me feel like the richest man in the world. 

            “I was a fighter long before I was a tech head.” I offer her a hand up. “You need to be ready for an opponent who does the unexpected.”

            She takes my outstretched hand, closing her soft fingers over mine without breaking my gaze. The sun blazes a golden path through her fiery hair, and my eyes slide over her pale skin and come to rest on her lips. Warmth pools in my stomach and spreads lazily through me as I tug her hand and pull her closer.

            I’m not going to kiss her. That would be … I don’t know what that would be. I can’t seem to think straight. All I see is Rachel, filling up my empty spaces and making me into more than I ever could be on my own.

            Maybe this is what family does for each other. She’s my family now. Which is why, even as I lean toward her, unable to tear my gaze away from the softness of her mouth, I tell myself I’m not going to kiss her.

            She steps toward me, face upturned. I lean in.

Behind us, someone clears his throat."

* Here's the Defiance page on C.J.'s blog: http://cjredwine.blogspot.com/p/books.html